Jupiter gymnast preparing for Thailand event
BYLINE: Jodie Wagner
DATE:Wednesday, June 07, 2006
PUBLICATION: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORHOOD POST
PAGE: 18
MEMO: Jupiter / Tequesta
Like thousands of little girls around the country, Chelsea Robie was mesmerized by the performance of the United States' women's gymnastics team at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Then 5, the Rhode Island native and her family tuned in to daily television coverage of the Atlanta competition, which ended with the American women earning a gold medal, inspiring legions of children, including Robie, to give the sport a try. "She was watching it on TV, and she said she wanted to do it," said her mom, Sandy "She's also ridden horses, but when the time came, it was the gymnastics, not the horses, that won out."
Ten years later, Robie, now 15, remains deeply committed to the sport, training six days a week at YMCA SportsWorld in Stuart. "I think it's fun to be able to have something that not a lot of people can do," she said.
During the past year, Robie, a Jupiter Farms resident, has done extremely well.
In March, the Batt Private School freshman placed 12th in her age group at the Level 9 Florida State Gymnastics Championships in Coral Springs.
A month later, she finished 20th at regional competition in Atlanta.
"I think I (did) pretty good for my first year at Level 9," she said.
Next year, she hopes to do even better.
Robie, a dean's list student at Batt, plans to remain at Level 9 for a second season of optional competition rather than move up to the more competitive Level 10. "I could move up to Level 10 if I tried extremely hard," said Robie, who plans to train throughout the summer and fall leading up to this winter's competition season. "But most people stay another year at Level 9, so I'll probably stay.
" In the meantime, she's gearing up for a trip to Thailand. Along with five other gymnasts from Palm Beach County, Robie will travel to Bangkok at the end of August to compete in the 2006 International Children's Games. The event, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is expected to attract more than 3,000 athletes and coaches from 60 countries. "I can't wait," Robie said of the competition. "It's going to be amazing." And challenging.
Robie, who was selected for Team Palm Beach during a qualifying meet held in April at Palm Beach Gymnastics, will compete against dozens of 12- to 15-year-old gymnasts from throughout the world for gold, silver and bronze medals. "It's like the Junior Olympics," Sandy Robie said of the International Children's Games, a world-class athletic competition that was established in 1968 as a means to allow children from throughout the world to practice friendship and understanding and follow Olympic ideals.
"They're staying in an Olympic Village. The athletes and coaches are not staying at the same place. The whole spirit of the games is meeting kids from other countries." Chelsea Robie looks forward to that opportunity. "Even if we don't do that well, it'll still be amazing to go to Thailand," she said.
Once she gets back, she'll have stories to tell, pictures to share and a gymnastics career to continue. Robie, who moved to Jupiter Farms two years ago, plans to continue training and competing throughout high school and college. "I'm glad that she's gone by steps," Sandy Robie said of her daughter's career."I think there's so many kids in any sport who burn out. I want her, when she gets to college, to be ready for that level at that time and to enjoy competing at the college level and to enjoy the college experience."